“Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks proud things,
4 Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?”
5 “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
7 You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.
8 The wicked prowl on every side, When vileness is exalted among the sons of men. Psalm 12
Purified: purify, distill, strain, refine to purify, distill, strain, to refine, to purge, refine, to refine, purify
Psalm 12 ends ( verses 6-8) with the most important reminder by contrasting the idle words of people to true words of God. While the wicked and the carnal people will continue to use their idle words, God’s word is pure. It does not shift. It is not used for flattery neither is it hypocritical! The Lord never speaks to us just to make us feel better by using flattery or idle words. He always speaks truth to us!
At times, every one of us has experienced doubt and uncertainty in our lives. God uses those tough times to continually prove His word to be true, unchanging, and pure. God’s word was never impure to need seven rounds of purification (verse 6). However, our trust in His word does need purification by being tested through adversity. We become convinced of the reliability of the word of God by standing on it. Through this process we personally get to know His word to be solid, unshakable, and true!
The Bible likens the word of God to silver. Real jewelry is expensive, and that’s why we give it to the special people in our lives. The word of God is as silver, and He desires to give it to His children because we are special to Him.
I am intentional about what I am imparting to my children. I want to take every opportunity to build them up and help them to become wise and mature. I know what I give them is of great value for their lives. They don’t always see or understand the value of what I am imparting, but through the test of time, they will recognize the value of my instruction and impartation.
When we open the Bible and take in His word, we become richer because we have taken in the pure word of God. It is good food, and healthy drink for our soul. It cleanses our minds, our hearts, and our vision. We can see and hear again because God’s pure word nourishes and enriches us.
The encouragement from Psalm 12 is that while some will continue to use their idle words to be hurtful and damaging to others, in contrast we have the pure word of God that has been tested throughout history to sustain us in every situation! Praise God!
